Mostly About Organized Crime

04/20/2011

Joe "the German" Watts, a long-time crony of the late Gambino boss John Gotti, was sentenced by Manhattan federal judge Colleen McMahon to the maximum prison term of thirteen years after the degenerate career criminal pleaded guilty last January to hatching a plot to whack Staten Island businessman Fred Weiss who was suspected of cooperating with authorities as reported by Bruce Golding for the New York Post: "'He does not appear to know how to live his life without violence and killing,' she said." The Watts plot did not come to fruition, and the feds believe that the 1989 murder of Weiss instead was carried out by the DeCavalcante family to curry favor with the Dapper Don.

03/04/2011

Brian Greenwald, a jewel thief who testified against Gambino associate Joe "The German" Watts, would rather remain in prison than roam the streets out of retribution fears as reported by Lachlan Cartwright for the New York Post. Although Greenwald has served his time he has opted to remain in administrative segregation at an undisclosed facility as U.S. Marshals prepare him for entering the witness protection program.

01/27/2011

Last week's record bust sends a loud and clear message from Attorney General Eric Holder as reported by Tom Robbins for The Village Voice: "The message is that, despite major distractions like terrorism and Mexican drug cartels, the feds aren't forgetting that the American Mafia—no matter how many TV gag lines and blogging giggles about nicknames—remains a real and potent threat." Indeed, if anyone doubts the vile nature of the wise guys, Robbins provides as an example the back story of reputed Gambino associate Joseph "the German" Watts who pleaded guilty earlier this month for hatching a plot to whack Staten Island businessman Fred Weiss: "the Weiss killing is just one of 11 hits Watts allegedly helped handle for his Gambino family superiors."

01/20/2011

Joseph Watts, a long-time crony of the late Gambino boss John Gotti, has pleaded guilty for hatching a plot to whack Staten Island businessman Fred Weiss who was suspected of cooperating with authorities according to an FBI press release. The plot did not come to fruition, and the feds believe that the 1989 murder of Weiss instead was carried out by the DeCavalcante family. Watts faces up to thirteen years in prison when he is sentenced on April 20.